Proposal on new Huckleberry school to be discussed in Brookfield

By Julia Perkins

Updated
4:53 pm EDT, Tuesday, August 14, 2018

Huckleberry Hill Elementary School is one of the buildings in most dire need of an upgrade. The school is not energy efficient, has poor toilets and lacks a sprinkler system. The buildings aging portables were recently demolished. Monday, April 23, 2018. less

Huckleberry Hill Elementary School is one of the buildings in most dire need of an upgrade. The school is not energy efficient, has poor toilets and lacks a sprinkler system. The buildings aging portables ... more

Huckleberry Hill Elementary School is one of the buildings in most dire need of an upgrade. The school is not energy efficient, has poor toilets and lacks a sprinkler system. The buildings aging portables were recently demolished. Monday, April 23, 2018. less

Huckleberry Hill Elementary School is one of the buildings in most dire need of an upgrade. The school is not energy efficient, has poor toilets and lacks a sprinkler system. The buildings aging portables ... more

BROOKFIELD — The Board of Education is poised to discuss the $78.1 million plan to build a new Huckleberry Hill Elementary School at its meeting Wednesday evening.

The proposal calls for combining pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in one school and vacating Center Elementary School, the oldest building in the district, for town use. Both Center and Huckleberry have various problems, including a lack of energy efficiency and handicap accessibility.

“In one swing, we’re able to take care of all our students, K-5, with this plan,” Superintendent John Barile said.

Eve Sturdevant, chair of the Strategic Facilities Committee, which recommended the proposal, said the plan considers parents’ desires for elementary students to be on one campus, while maintaining the tight-knit, safe environment the younger grades at Center are accustomed to.

“It’s like the perfect plan,” Sturdevant said.

The committee, along with Jeff Wyszynski, from Tecton Architects, will describe the proposal in detail to board members at their 7 p.m. Wednesday meeting in the media center of the high school.

Sturdevant said pre-kindergarten through first-graders, who now go to Center, would have their own entrance and wing, while each of the other grades would have their own wings, as well. A driveway, parking and ball fields would also be added.

“[The building is] going to be bright with lots of windows,” Sturdevant said. “It’s going to be airy and just a really enduring, warm atmosphere.”

The building would also have flexible learning spaces and modern technology and would be designed with safety in mind, Barile said.

The district plans to pursue a state grant that would bring the cost to the town down to $63.3 million.

Sturdevant said the town would also save money over time on staffing and heat costs by eliminating two schools with poor energy efficiency.

The committee’s recommendation still includes renovating Whisconier Middle School, a cramped building Sturdevant said has barely changed since she was part of the first class to attend there in 1970.

“The clocks and phones are still the same,” she said.

But the committee plans to focus on Huckleberry first.

The new school would be built on the back field the Huckleberry campus, with the woods behind it.

“It’s going to be beautiful,” Barile said. “I’m so happy for the children and for the town that we’re at this point in the project planning.”

During construction, students would stay in the existing Huckleberry, Center and Whisconier until the new building is complete. The old Huckleberry would then be demolished.

If the school board approves the Huckleberry proposal, the Municipal Building Committee and the board would work together to finalize plans.

The selectmen and finance boards must sign off on the plan before it goes to voters, ideally in March.